By Jeff Birchfield
Johnson City Press
Groundhog Day seemed like the perfect time for Milligan College and the Johnson City Chamber and Visitors Bureau to celebrate 10 years of hosting the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Over the past decade, the national championship meet has cast a shadow of economic impact over Johnson City estimated at $20 million. During the time, participation in the meet, scheduled for March 4-6 at the Dome, has grown from 850 to over 2,000 athletes.
"It's pretty astronomical when you think the event has grown over 200 percent over the last 10 years," said Brenda Whitson, executive director of the Johnson City CVB. "To have an event you're able to sustain and grow like this is pretty incredible for our city. It speaks loudly to the hospitality that our city puts forth when these athletes are in town."
From the athletic side, the growth has come despite increases in standards. Milligan head track and field coach Chris Layne called it a testimony to the NAIA athletes and coaches that the competitors are running faster, jumping higher and throwing further than ever before.
With six of his athletes who have qualified for the meet at a Tuesday press conference at Milligan's McMahan Student Center, Layne talked about hosting the meet and how it's influenced him as a coach.
"I look back at the way I used to do things and it's completely different from how I do them now," he said. "That's part of learning and growing as a coach. When you're passionate about something, you can never stop learning. I love watching the hepthatlon over those three days, what the kids and coaches endure. It opens your eyes to see what folks are doing around the country. It's a growth process."
Certainly, the Buffs place an extra emphasis on the indoor meet compared to the cross-country and outdoor national championships. Of the 33 All-Americans the Milligan track program has produced under Layne, twenty earned the honor during the indoor championships. They include Marta Zimon, the 2003 champion in the 5,000 meters, to date the only Milligan athlete ever to win a national championship. Still living in Johnson City, she was among those at Tuesday's press conference.
Both the Milligan and chamber officials talked about how much it means to use East Tennessee State University's main sports facility. Layne said it can't been forgotten what ETSU has done for the event, while Whitson spoke of the partnership they enjoy.
"I can't stress how important the flexibility we have with ETSU in regards to the use of the Mini-Dome," Whitson said. "Without them, we don't have an event. That partnership is very critical to this whole process, as is Milligan's. Our department has tried to enhance the experience of the athletes with the overall championships. That has meant a great deal to NAIA as an institution and to the coaches."
Whitson added some of her favorite parts of hosting the events are forging relationships with the people involved, and hearing how the athletes talk fondly about their time in Johnson City. As a coach, Layne appreciates keeping the event at one place, pointing to the outdoor championships and cross-country championships being held at 10 different venues over the past decade.
It takes a lot of local support to pull off such a major event. It involves Layne and other Milligan officials working closely with chamber officials to line up volunteers and officials.
"We could not do this without all the volunteers because it's a very tight budget," Whitson said. "We work with our local track and field group with Brian Buckner to get the officials. What we pay them is a penance amount of money for the time they put into the event."
Other volunteer help comes from within the Buffalo program. After the first few years of hosting the meet, Layne saw there was a shortage of help. Several of his athletes responded to the need by taking time away from their spring break to serve as marshals and help with different events.
"I have asked my team for the last few years to stay home or come back early from spring break, and work the meet," Layne said. "That's one of the reasons this meet has gotten better over the last few years. Quite honestly, I've not heard many complaints despite giving up 3-4 days of their spring break. They realize the importance of what we're doing. Milligan has a responsibility as the host institution to do everything they can to make the event a success."
